You Can't Take the Sky from Me
by thenerdycorgi
Summary: Originally posted on my Tumblr, this story is based on Dawgy McGrillz's headcanons about the Happy Hungry Bunch accidentally stumbling across the Ryokuryuu village.
1. The Wall

It was something about the trees, he decided. Some look that they had about them that seemed familiar.

Since finishing their work in one of the small northern towns, the group of "bandits" known as the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch had moved on, farther into the fields and thin forests of the country. The mountains grew smaller behind them as they steadily traveled east.

For several days they continued like they normally would. Yona practicing her bow at night; Zeno bouncing around like the ball of sunshine he appeared to be; Hak and Ki-ja arguing but not in a hostile way; Jae-ha alternately teasing Hak and then teasing Yona when he failed to tease Hak because this bothered the younger boy more anyway; Shin-ah quietly watching these interactions; and Yun forever trying to corral his hyperactive little family.

But today, for the last several hours, Jae-ha had been feeling increasingly anxious. He couldn't explain the feeling. It came on him suddenly and didn't seem to have a source. As they trekked through the woods, the feeling grew, and he started to look closer at their surroundings.

There was something about this place. He got the distinct feeling he'd seen it all before. But the memory moved so quickly, giving the impression that the trees flew past in a grey and green blur, that he couldn't pin it down. He wasn't even sure it was real.

Despite his growing unease, Jae-ha stayed quiet and fell into his regular role among the group. He didn't notice that the sparse trees were thinning even more. But when the forest opened up and revealed a wall of wooden stakes looming before them the anxiety quickly evolved into panic.

"Hey, looks like there's a village all the way out here," Yun commented as they approached.

Jae-ha didn't hear him. He was frozen in terror as he stared at that wall. The same wall he'd never been able to scale fast enough. The same squat stone houses and their prairie brush roofs. The same feeling of oppression that emanated from everything.

Suddenly the memory of the trees returned, and now it made sense. With it, came the cold feeling of steel against his wrists, the soft, quick sound of an arrow loosed from a bow…

And Garou. Garou shouting at him. Garou grabbing him in midair and dragging him back to the accursed ground. Garou's angry eyes, heavy fists, and always cutting words.

"Jae-ha?" Yona was standing in front of him now, frowning worriedly.

Brought back for the moment by the sound of the young girl's voice, Jae-ha shook himself and forced a smile as he said, "What's wrong, Yona-chan?"

"I was going to ask you," she said, eyeing his face, "You look pale. Are you ok?"

He almost didn't hear her either. There was a voice screaming in his mind, "Go. Get out! _Fly away!_ "

"I'm fine," he lied, "Just fine. But I think we should - "

"I think you all need to come see this," Hak called from ahead of them.

Yona turned from Jae-ha then and followed the others.

Jae-ha glanced at the wall again and silenced the voice in his head.

" _I will not be chained down again,_ " he thought firmly. And he joined the rest of the group.

"What is..." Ki-ja murmured.

Yona made a small gasping sound.

Jae-ha stood stone still behind them, staring down at the skeleton Hak had found with hazy, unfocused violet eyes.

It couldn't be called a corpse, because all that was left were sun-bleached bones. It was the body of a man, still wearing tattered grey clothes.

Garou's clothes.

Jae-ha recognized the garments immediately and something ice cold settled in the pit of his stomach. The body was left outside the wall, tossed aside to be devoured by the relentless sunlight and hungry animals.

"Why would they do this?" Yona asked, both angry and concerned.

Her voice drew Jae-ha back into reality again and he glanced nervously at the entrance to the town, not far down the wall from them. He immediately began to rifle through one of their supply bags to pull out his cloak. He quickly threw it on, careful to tuck his hair away underneath the hood and pull it down low over his bangs.

He managed to conceal himself just before three people emerged from the village and hurriedly came toward the group.


	2. The Room

The trio consisted of two men and a woman. Their leader was an elderly man with small, dark eyes and a beard. When he was nearer to Yona and the others, he said, "Young lady, you should come away from there."

Jae-ha tensed. He knew the voice. He had heard the scathing remarks for years.

" _Don't let him escape. He has no place in this world. That monster is a danger to us all."_

The village elder. The clan's chief. Jae-ha never thought the old man would still be alive. The hair was whiter, and the figure stooped lower with age, but there was no mistaking that voice.

" _Run!"_ the voice in his head screamed again.

Oh, how he wished he could.

"What happened to this person?" Yona asked, gesturing to the bones, "Who was he?"

"You need not feel bad for it, young lady," the elder said, his voice low and whispering like an adder's hiss, "It was only a monster."

Yona didn't like the sound of that. Hak and Ki-ja were frowning as well, and the white dragon was careful to keep his claw concealed as he now felt these people may not take it too well.

Yona looked at Yun, who seemed just as confused and concerned, and she asked the villagers, "What do you mean by that?"

For only part of a second, the man and woman exchanged a glance. Jae-ha saw it and frowned, still keeping to the back of the group.

"It's…not something you need to be concerned about," the village elder assured her. "You and your friends should move on. There is little in these woods that would interest travelers."

"Uh, well…we…aren't just travelers," Yun stuttered out, "We're entertainers. And we've come a very long way already. We would gladly perform for your people if you could give us lodging for the night?"

Another imperceptible glance.

The elder hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "I think we have a place you all could stay. Come with me."

When the villagers turned, Yun looked to Yona, and she nodded once. There was something very strange about this town. It wasn't at all like the others. As long as they were inside, maybe they could find out what the problem was and fix it.

Reluctantly, Jae-ha followed Yona and the others into the village. A chill ran down his spine as they passed through the entrance. He was back on the inside of the wall. Everything was exactly as he remembered it.

The homes and people were just as isolating as the wooden wall. All the doors were shut, all the windows drawn. The few villagers they saw as they walked through the center of the town looked at them with distrust or disdain.

" _Welcome home,_ " he thought ruefully.

The elder and his two attendants lead them to the edge of the town. He stopped in front of a small building made from stones so mismatched it seemed to be put together by a child. It was a wonder how it stood on its own.

"You and your friends may stay here," he said to Yun, opening the ancient wooden door with a creak.

Jae-ha had been looking back at the people they'd passed. Some he remembered, some he didn't. There was even a pair of children that looked to be about five years old. Because his eyes had been elsewhere, he was not prepared for what he saw when he turned around again.

The elder had stepped inside and was gesturing at the small room within. He was speaking to Yun, but Jae-ha's hearing had suddenly failed him again. He was looking at _his_ room.

There was the basin he and Garou had kept water in. There were the few dishes the two were given to use. These items were rusted or dirty now after over a decade without use. On a shelf in the corner lay the small collection of books Jae-ha remembered flipping through, his only glimpse of the outside world. The thatched roof cast everything in darkness. There were no windows.

And dangling from one wall were the chains. They were broken from the day he escaped, and hung limp from the stones. They trailed over the dusty floor and torn mat he recalled sleeping on each night.

Shin-ah was watching him while the others glanced around the room with some concern. He wanted to tell the other boy not to worry, but he couldn't speak. He could hardly breathe. He was afraid if he opened his mouth at all he would vomit.

But the man and woman were starting to eye him suspiciously and so he forced himself to step inside with the rest of the group.


	3. The Map

"All seven of us…in here?" Yun said skeptically. Standing was fine, but he was unsure how all of them would sleep in the tiny house.

"Understandably, if the young lady should require different accommodations -" the elder began.

Hak and Ki-ja both adamantly denied.

"And don't worry yourselves with performing for us," the chief added, "My people have no need of your songs or dancing."

"But we must -" Yona began.

"If you wish to repay us, you will leave at first light," he snapped, "And you will remain here until then."

As the elder and his attendants left, the man's arm brushed against Jae-ha's. The green dragon felt his skin crawl and he had to try very hard not to leap away from the old tyrant. Instead he fixed the man's retreating back with a glare.

"So much for getting to know the people around here," Yun said.

"I still want to try," Yona insisted, "There is definitely something bad happening here."

Jae-ha walked passed them to the bookshelf in the corner, glancing around the room as he went. Every object brought back a memory. Most were painful. A few were happy. All of them tasted bitter.

"Still, I'll have to do some asking around myself if we plan on making any dinner," Yun muttered, looking over the sparse utensils in the room.

"Ki-ja could help you," Yona suggested, "But…maybe keep his arm out of sight."

"You cannot wander around a place like this alone, Princess," Ki-ja said.

"I'll go with her," Hak assured him.

"And we can take Zeno and Shin-ah," Yona said, "Maybe they'll pick up on something we can't. And Jae-ha -"

"Zeno wants to stay here," Zeno interrupted her, "Zeno wants to look at the books." And he pointed to the corner where Jae-ha was standing, idly flipping the pages of one of the old storybooks.

None of the rest of the group was very comfortable leaving Zeno anywhere alone. Two thousand years old or not, he tended to act more like he was ten.

"And Jae-ha can keep an eye on Zeno then," Yona revised her plan.

"You hearing her, Droopy Eyes?" Hak called to him.

"Hm?" Jae-ha looked up, "Oh. Yeah. Ok."

Hak cocked his head, and for a moment he looked like he was going to speak again. Jae-ha had been unnaturally quiet all this time, and it was starting to bother him. But Yona tugged his sleeve and they followed Yun, Ki-ja, and Shin-ah back outside. As they left, Ao hopped off Shin-ah's shoulder and scampered across the room to Zeno.

With the others gone, Jae-ha let out a deep sigh and slid to the floor, his back against the wall. He was still holding the book he'd flipped through and so he started to look over it again. The pages felt brittle in his fingers, like they could shatter if he wasn't gentle, or crumble into dust and drift away. The words barely stayed with him; he wasn't really seeing them. But the pictures were familiar and they calmed him a bit.

"Are you going to tell them?" Zeno finally said.

Jae-ha looked up and saw Zeno sitting with his back against the adjacent wall. Ao had climbed into his hands and was now receiving a good ear scratching.

Zeno knew. Of course, Zeno knew. He always seemed to sense things the others couldn't. And despite his often childish antics, he was indeed very mature and wise.

"I -" Jae-ha started to speak but the words caught in his throat.

Ao peered up at him then, and jumped off of Zeno's palm to scurry over to the green dragon. She sat beside him, just watching, and gave him a happy little, "Pukyuu."

"Why haven't you told them we should leave?" Zeno asked him softly.

"Because," Jae-ha tried again, "I…I never thought I'd be back here again. I never wanted to return, not even when my successor is born."

"Doesn't seem like there has been one," Zeno commented.

"No, it doesn't feel that way," Jae-ha agreed. He would sense the birth of a new ryokuryuu, just like Garou sensed his birth. The children they saw before were normal. By the looks of things, everyone in the village was.

Zeno reached up and grabbed a book from the shelf and began to turn its pages as well. Meanwhile, Ao was nudging Jae-ha's hand gently but persistently. When he looked down at her, she was offering a peanut.

"No, Ao," he told her, "Thanks, but I don't need it."

"Pukyuuuuuu," the squirrel insisted, bouncing excitedly.

He sighed, a sound that had half a chuckle in it, and took the peanut from her, slipping it into his pocket.

"Ok, fine," he said, "Thank you."

The little critter seemed to nod, satisfied, before pattering away to Zeno again.

"So you won't tell them," Zeno said, scanning a large map in the book he'd dragged down.

"What's the point?" Jae-ha asked, "We'll leave in the morning and they'll never have to know."

" _And I'll never have to see this godforsaken place again,_ " he thought.

Zeno nodded. Jae-ha felt that the yellow dragon wanted to say more, but he didn't. Instead Jae-ha saw the map he was looking at and a thought suddenly struck him.

"Zeno-kun," he said.

"Mm-hm?" the boy looked at him cheerfully.

"Do you know," Jae-ha asked, leaning forward and reaching out to point at the book, "roughly, about where we are on this map?"

Zeno laid the book down between them and studied it for a moment.

"Hmm," he hummed. Then he pointed down and traced a finger across a section of the page, saying, "I think…considering the way we've been walking, we must be somewhere around here."

He was indicating a spot in the northeastern part of Kouka, just above the Wind Tribe's border into the south of Fire Tribe territory. There were a few hills drawn here and there, and a river that branched off into two paths.

Jae-ha knew from what Captain Gi-gan had taught him where certain other cities were. He could point out Chi'shin and Awa and the capitol. But he had never known where his own village was located, and so this was the first time he'd ever been aware of the distance he'd put between it and himself.

Awa was on the western coast. He'd crossed nearly the entire country. He remembered those weeks after he escaped only as a blur of trees, fresh air on his face, hunger, the bright sky, fear, and the intense need to keep moving. Always moving. Never look back.

"Ryokuryuu?" Zeno's brow furrowed slightly.

Jae-ha realized he'd spaced out again and shook himself.

"It's nothing," he said, "Just…we sure are a long way from home."


	4. The Dream

Author's note: For anyone wondering, yes you can find this story on my Tumblr or on AO3. My username on those sites is the same as here – thenerdycorgi!

When the rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch returned, they'd failed to get any new information from the villagers. Instead, Yun had procured several needed cooking items and some food, but at the cost of bringing half the village with him expecting to be fed. Grudgingly, the beautiful boy genius provided for them all, and Yona and the others continued to badger the people for answers.

Jae-ha stayed at the edge of the crowd, shrouding himself in as much shadow as he could. He was utterly terrified that one person – that's all it would take, just one – would recognize him. He trembled a bit whenever one of the villagers got too close. He spoke to no one.

Thankfully, focused on their still-failing interrogations, the others didn't notice his skittish behavior. He didn't eat much, and couldn't taste it if he did.

That little voice was screaming at him to run again. He had to fight the urge to fly away all evening. He had nowhere to go. He couldn't just leave Yona and the group here alone. And yet he wanted nothing more than to disappear with the setting sun.

With night falling fast and the food gone, the villagers were quick to vanish into their homes again. The group had no more information than they started with, and now they were forced back into the cramped room together. Yun lit a candle from one of their bags and Yona and her warriors began to shuffle about, making spaces for sleeping, settling in.

Jae-ha found himself against the wall again, so unthinkingly he curled up on the floor.

"Jae-ha."

Something about the way Hak said his name startled the green dragon and he couldn't hide a flinch before he looked up.

"Are you…ok over there?" Hak asked, "I mean, sleeping there?"

Jae-ha frowned. He didn't know what the boy was talking about. This was where he always slept.

" _Wait…_ "

The thought turned his blood cold. He slowly looked down and saw the torn mat beneath him. He turned his head and swallowed hard when he saw the chains coiled beside his legs. There was a pain in his chest now, a sharp clenching feeling. He hadn't realized how hard he was breathing until just this moment.

The rest of the group was looking at him now. He saw varying degrees of worry in their faces. Prone to making light of bad situations, his one defense mechanism finally kicked in and he grinned slyly.

He stretched out a bit, ignoring the knot that formed in his belly when his leg touched the chains, he lay his head on his arm so his hair fell over one eye, and said in a low tone, "Of course. Imagine the fun I can have…"

He nudged the chain playfully and licked his teeth. His eyes never left Hak's.

The younger man groaned, exasperated, and turned away from him. Zeno was laughing, Ki-ja looked sufficiently disgusted, and Yona and Shin-ah remained confused but seemed content to let it go.

"In fact, if you would join me, Hak-kun…" Jae-ha added, his voice trailing off. He'd done it for good measure but he wondered if it wasn't a bit over the top.

"Shut up and go to sleep," Hak growled.

Yun extinguished the candle.

Jae-ha's smile faded in the pitch black that engulfed the room. As quietly as possible, he put a bit of distance between himself and the dangling chains. His skin itched where they had touched him.

For a long time he simply lay there in the dark, listening to Hak and Yona and the others breathing around him. He was sure he would never be able to sleep, but eventually he lay his head down and closed his eyes, and he soon drifted off.

He dreamed of flying. He was high up into the clouds over Awa, higher than he had ever gone, and all around him was blue sky and the scent of the ocean. Each time he came down and leapt again he ardently wished that this time he would never have to touch the ground again. And then as he landed, just before soaring off again, something clamped down hard on his leg.

Jae-ha looked back and saw Garou clutching his ankle, glaring up at him. Suddenly, Jae-ha was twelve years old again, and struggling but unable to get free of his predecessor's grip. Garou was dragging him back down. He cried out, but no one could hear them, for they were far into the woods surrounding the village, away from human eyes. And no one would have come anyway. No one would come to the aid of a monster.

Jae-ha sat bolt upright and squelched a scream back in his throat. The nightmare had reawakened his fear of the place, and in the lightless room he was convinced the shackles were already binding him again.

Trying mightily to calm himself again, the green dragon realized he wasn't the only one awake. A pair of eyes was watching him in the darkness.


	5. The Night

Shin-ah had somehow managed to cross the room without waking the rest of the group and he was now kneeling before Jae-ha, watching him in that near-perpetual silence. Ao wriggled out of her hiding spot in the fur of his mask and peered at Jae-ha with what could almost be called concern in her tiny, black eyes.

Simultaneously the boy and his squirrel leaned their heads partially to the side, asking without words, "Are you ok?"

Jae-ha let out a shaky breath and held one finger to his lips. Shin-ah nodded. Ao burrowed back into the mask's fur.

Jae-ha let his eyes adjust to the gloom around them and looked over his traveling companions. All still asleep. Good. He quietly got to his feet.

Shin-ah's mouth, the only visible part of his face, turned down somewhat. Jae-ha lay a hand on his head gently, and leaned down to scribble in the dirt – Don't worry. I'll be right back, it said. He was sure Shin-ah could read the dusty marks in the darkness, and after a moment he brushed the words away.

Shin-ah continued to watch him as he crept across the small room, weaving between Yona and the others. Ao peeked out of the mass of fluff, little nose twitching.

Jae-ha was very careful not to make a sound when he opened the door and slipped outside. It was reminiscent of the times he'd snuck out as a child, and it sent a chill down his spine.

He made his way silently through the city. The moon shone high above – he wished he was up there too – and the homes were still, all the villagers asleep. He remembered the layout of the town as if he had never left it, and so he was easily able to find what he was looking for. At the back of the village, the clan kept a small cemetery. He often wondered how many of the previous ryokuryuus were buried here, or how many had been discarded like Garou.

He wandered the graveyard for some time, searching for something specific, and when he found it he glanced back at the town. He didn't want to cross it again. He wanted to fly. The dragon blood in him was begging to take flight, but…

He remembered all the failed attempts of his childhood and he was scared.

But the night was clear and the whole city was quiet. He decided to risk it.

One leap and he was above the village, looking down on it. He took comfort in the fact that no arrows shot past him and no one grabbed hold of him to drag him back down. A weight left him at the realization that even now he was still free. The hold that the village had on him was not as strong as he'd feared.

He landed on the other edge of the town, back at the entrance. No cries went up from any of the villagers, still sleeping, and he was sure he could set to work without any trouble.

But when he found himself standing over the bones of his predecessor, some of his resolve melted away. His hands quivered and his grip on the shovel he'd found among the gravestones loosened.

Staring at Garou's remains, he opened his mouth as if to speak, but he could think of nothing. He was sure he should say something. But no words seemed appropriate.

I'm sorry wasn't good enough. It wouldn't bring him back, or dispel the shame of this non-burial.

Thank you sounded childish, and anyway he couldn't say it enough to convey his gratitude.

"I wish you had just taken my hand," he finally said, because it was the only immensely true statement he could make. He fervently wished Garou had escaped with him that night.

With a heavy sigh he turned away and began to dig. All the time they had been in the town it had nagged at him the way they simply threw Garou's body out like garbage. Maybe he wasn't always good to Jae-ha but he was still a person, still a dragon, and he deserved better than this.

"A hole in the ground may not be very beautiful," he said quietly, as if Garou could hear him, "but it certainly isn't as ugly as this."

He worked slowly, calmly, feeling slightly safer on this side of the wall. Yet he still tensed when he heard footsteps.

"Jae-ha," Yona's voice washed over him, pushing the fear away. He turned to see her and the rest of the group exiting the village and traversing the wall to his spot.

He couldn't help giving Shin-ah a small frown. He hadn't expected the boy to wake the others and come after him.

"You said you'd be right back," Shin-ah mumbled, "You were gone too long…"

The frown faded. He couldn't fault the younger dragon for worrying about him, after all.

"Jae-ha, what is this all about?" Ki-ja asked.

All their eyes were searching his in the night. All except Zeno. His gaze was as calm as ever. Jae-ha focused on him. Then finally he sighed and gestured to the wall.

"This…is my village…" he said.

Ki-ja and Yun looked taken aback, Hak actually seemed angry, but for Yona suddenly everything was clear. His behavior that day – the silence, the distance, the unease. He desperately didn't want to be here.

Her eyes fell on the old bones and a deep sadness filled her. She knew the answer already but had to ask, "And he was..?"

"My predecessor…" Jae-ha admitted. "Garou."

Yona nodded.

"That is…unacceptable," Ki-ja growled. No dragon warrior should ever be disgraced in such a way. "How could they –"

"Because," a voice said harshly behind them, "it was just another monster."

The group was startled and turned around quickly to see the elder and several villagers approaching them. He was followed closely by the female attendant, and Jae-ha guessed that she had been watching the group through the night.

"You're the green dragon clan," Yun said, eyes scanning the group, his voice rising with anger. "This is how you treat them?"

"It's not just this," Yona said certainly, "They put us in the same room they gave to Garou and Jae-ha."

Jae-ha shivered, always surprised by this young girl's perceptiveness.

The rest of the Happy Hungry Bunch looked appalled, no doubt remembering the windowless hut and the chains on the walls.

"How dare you," Ki-ja's voice was soft but sharp with rage. He was trembling now. This was worse than how the seiryuu village had hidden Shin-ah away in those caves.

"Do not think you can judge our actions," the chief spat, "My clan has been cursed with these creatures for generations upon generations. We did what needed to be done to protect the entire village. Even now we are not offered salvation, for the current one still lives, somewhere far from here."

"Not so far at all, actually," Jae-ha said from the back of the group. He stepped forward to stand beside Yona. His fear was gone now. He had no urge to run. For now he knew they could never catch him anyway. No one would ever chain him down again.

And with a flourish typical of the current ryokuryuu, he pulled the hood of his cloak back, exposing his long green hair, and the people of his village were left in stunned silence.

Author's note: We're getting close to done! I get the feeling though that you all will be waiting on the last chapter just like my Tumblr followers, and I'm sorry I'm taking so long with it. My writer's block is strong...


	6. The Grave

Several of the men and women gasped, a few stepped backwards with terror in their faces. Every one of them could see the boy they remembered in this handsome young man. He was certainly Jae-ha, the monster that fled, come back to them.

"You…" the elder hissed.

"Hello, chief," Jae-ha said softly. He fixed the man with a violet stare, intimidating in its serenity.

"To think you would ever show your face here again," the old man growled.

"Then it is true," Ki-ja said, "You kept him chained up in that room? And this one…"

His gaze shifted to Garou's remains.

"Yes, he was the previous monster," the elder admitted but with disdain, "He died letting this one escape."

"He died giving me the freedom we both deserved from the start," Jae-ha snapped.

Hak, who had been entirely silent and never taken his eyes off of Jae-ha until this moment, slowly turned and pushed his way through the crowd, returning to the city. Jae-ha thought he seemed angry, but he hadn't thought the boy would leave them like that. He was a bit disappointed.

"You all are a disgrace to the dragon clans," Ki-ja said now. He was still so shocked at the injustice that was this entire village. He could feel his own dragon blood pulsing in his claws. It was at this time that one of the villagers noticed his white-scaled arm.

"He's one of them!" the man cried out.

The crowd became a flurry of questions, insults, and accusations. Yun was trying to explain it away as a trick or illusion, but no one was having that.

Meanwhile, Hak made his way back through the clutch of frightened villagers. As he passed Jae-ha, the green dragon saw that he was carrying a shovel of his own. No doubt he'd gotten it from one of the townsfolk's gardens. Jae-ha's love for the boy, his gratitude toward him, shone in his eyes but ever-stoic Hak ignored him. He simply made his way to the hole Jae-ha had started and silently began to dig.

Jae-ha noticed now that Shin-ah was standing over Garou's bones as if guarding the body, protecting it. Zeno smiled beside him, and Jae-ha's chest tightened.

Above the din of the villagers' fearful voices – Jae-ha could hear within them prayers to the gods, demands that these intruders be removed at once, even put to death, and muttered words of disbelief and amazement from some whose eyes were still searching his face – Yona spoke again.

"Please, everyone! Please listen to me!" the young girl cried out.

The clamor took a few moments to die down, and Ki-ja, Jae-ha, and Yun had put themselves firmly between the princess and a handful of villagers who were brave enough to advance on the group.

"The four dragon warriors are _not_ monsters," she assured them, "And we didn't come here to harm any of you. The dragons protect this country."

"It's because of these creatures that our numbers are so few," the elder informed her, "Our village was once massacred by soldiers searching for one of these beasts. We lost friends, families. We were forced from our homes into this place." He gestured to the declining woodland.

"I'm sorry," Yona said softly and she was sincere, but she continued, "I'm sorry for your losses and your hardships. But you can't blame Jae-ha for a mistake that another dragon made. You had no right to punish the rest of them, to treat them the way you did, and that is why you haven't found peace or salvation."

Some of the men and women of the village shifted and mumbled guiltily. They weren't staring at Jae-ha now; they could no longer meet his eyes. He looked from them to Yona and back again before turning away and rejoining Hak to dig the grave.

"If you live in this fear your whole lives, nothing will get better," Yona told them, "You will remain isolated and afraid, and the pain you inflict on the dragons will only be revisited on others. You _can_ break this cycle. Or…you can do nothing. Either way, we promise to leave here, and we will never tell anyone of this place. You have my word."

There was muttered consultation among the villagers, their voices less fearful but their eyes still darting to the four dragons and the spirited young girl. Hearing the words of his people, the elder sighed deeply and fixed Yona with his cold stare. His gaze flickered to Jae-ha only once when he spoke.

"You _will_ leave in the morning," he said, "And you will never return."

Yona nodded firmly, and both Yun and Ki-ja visibly relaxed as the village leader and the rest of the residents began to walk back inside the walled town.

Before they disappeared, Jae-ha looked up and called out, "Chief."

The old man turned only enough to acknowledge he had heard the young man speak. So Jae-ha stopped digging and raised his voice with his next words, speaking more strongly than he ever had before.

"When the next ryokuryuu is born, I will know," he said, "Don't you dare chain him down."

The elder paused, weighing this warning, then continued into the village without another word.

Yona sighed and shook her head as they left. She joined Shin-ah near the wall and Garou's bones, asking him gently if he was ok. Yun followed, but to scold Zeno quietly instead, as the yellow dragon had been waving fondly at the villagers as they walked away.

Jae-ha still wanted to say something to Hak, but the boy wouldn't look up at him as they dug. Instead Ki-ja approached them slowly and stood by, watching them, looking unsure about something.

Finally the white dragon spoke.

"Jae-ha, I am…" his voice broke and he was quiet again, long enough to gather his thoughts and try to form more words, "If I had ever known…the way they treated you…I –"

He stopped again and now that Jae-ha looked at him he could see tears in the boy's beautiful blue eyes. Jae-ha realized the younger boy was trying to apologize to him, but for what he didn't know. And then suddenly he remembered his words to Ki-ja when they first met. How ardent in his loyalty Ki-ja had been, and how Jae-ha had so quickly dismissed it because his experience as a dragon warrior had been very different. No doubt Ki-ja was thinking of this too.

"Ki-ja-kun..." he said softly, "It doesn't…matter, really."

"It _does_!" he insisted, the tears spilling down his pale face, "It does! And I am so sorry!"

Jae-ha sighed and shook his head before answering, "Ok, well, I forgive you then. I just don't really want to talk about it, ok?"

Ki-ja nodded, sniffling and wiping a sleeve across his face.

Zeno and Yona distracted Ki-ja for awhile after that, comforting him, allowing Jae-ha and Hak to dig. Shin-ah still seemed determined to protect the remains of the previous ryokuryuu, but Ao had hopped off his shoulder and was now also digging at Jae-ha's feet. He watched the squirrel pull rocks from the hole and set them aside very reverently.

By some unspoken understanding, both young men knew they didn't have to dig very deep. Certainly not as deep as a traditional grave should be. But then, this was a fairly unconventional funeral overall.

It was Jae-ha himself who approached Shin-ah when the hole was dug, kneeling down as the boy stepped aside. Very carefully he gathered the bones, keeping most intact, and returned to the grave. He just as delicately laid the skeleton among the dirt and stones, but he didn't immediately stand up. He could only stare at the grave, the world having gone silent around him once again.

He snapped out of it when Hak shifted, readying to push a scoop of the dirt back into place and complete their burial. Jae-ha held up a hand and shook his head, getting to his feet again.

"I'll do it," he said, "But for now…I'd like to be alone for awhile…"

Ki-ja looked like he would protest but Hak had set the shovel down and grabbed his arm, leading him away with Zeno and Shin-ah. Yun followed shortly after, but Yona stepped toward the green dragon. She very gently took his hand in hers and made sure to meet his eyes when he looked at her. He gave her the faintest smile and she nodded before following the rest of the group.

They would go back inside the village for the remainder of the night, and they were sure the elder's attendants would no longer be spying on them.

Jae-ha stayed with Garou for a long time, thinking. The night grew cooler and a breeze swept his hair from his face, and he realized with more than a little relief that he could feel the air on his skin now, compared to being numb before.

He didn't know why, but he decided as he filled the hole in that if Garou really could see him, he'd probably be proud. And this thought comforted him.


	7. The Sky

Jae-ha woke up to dim sunlight and the feeling of being boxed in. It didn't inspire any fear in him though, and when he opened his eyes and saw that the rest of the group was huddled around him he understood. He was sitting with his back against the wooden wall, where he'd fallen asleep the night before. He remembered them reentering the village while he filled Garou's grave, but they must have returned when he never came back inside the wall.

Zeno was curled into a sunbeam colored ball between him and Shin-ah, who was sharing his fur with the yellow dragon, if unwillingly. On his other side was Ki-ja, his head resting on Jae-ha's shoulder, one arm gently gripping Jae-ha's. Hak was leaning against Ki-ja with Yona snuggled into his side, and Yun had sprawled across both the white and green dragons because no other space presented itself.

It took only a few minutes to rouse everyone and start gathering their things. They spoke little except to discuss which direction they should take. It was as they took their first steps away from the village that a voice called to them.

"Ryokuryuu," the word was sharp and quick but held no malice. Still, Jae-ha felt his body grow tense as he turned around.

Two of the villagers had come to the opening in the wall and now stood before the group – a man about Jae-ha's age, a woman, slightly younger, and at their feet trailed one of the children he had seen the day before, a small boy with dark hair.

Jae-ha felt both Ki-ja and Shin-ah press closer to him as if to protect him, but he perceived no threat in these people and gently waved the other dragons away.

"Jae-ha," the green dragon corrected the couple, "My name is Jae-ha."

"Oh, y-yes," the man stammered, "Jae-ha…"

The word sounded foreign from this man's lips. No one in the village had ever addressed him by his name except for Garou.

"Jae-ha, we think…" the man began to speak but faltered, not confident in his wording. The woman spoke instead.

"What the girl said is true," she said, "It was wrong what was done to you. To you and…the others."

Jae-ha wanted to tell them Garou's name as well, but didn't see the point.

"We would like to apologize to you," the man said.

If Jae-ha was stunned by the words, he was blown away by what happened next. The man and woman both bent forward in very courteous bows – directed at him.

"We are sorry for disgracing the ryokuryuu and the dragon warriors," the woman added, "Please forgive us."

The boy stood beside his mother, looking up at Jae-ha wonderingly. The woman gently pushed his head forward and he bowed with them.

Jae-ha didn't know what to say. He stared at them open-mouthed for a moment, struggling to pin down the emotions this had sent swirling around inside him. Amid the tempest he also felt hope. Seeing the little boy made him think that maybe the new generation of ryokuryuu village may be better than the last few.

Finally he stepped forward and took the woman's hands in his, and her eyes followed as he raised them up.

"Please," he said when she straightened and the man and child followed suit, "There's no need for that."

He clasped her hands a bit tighter though, and smiled at them – a real smile, a warm one, and not the smirk he wore when teasing the younger boys or the charming grin he slipped most young ladies – and he said, "Thank you."

The woman met his eyes and nodded, a small smile gracing her features as well. The family retreated back into the village after this. Jae-ha couldn't take his eyes off them.

"We should go," Ki-ja said quietly after a moment.

"…yeah," Jae-ha answered softly.

Yun noted that the landscape only got more barren to the north, so they should angle south as they continued toward the coast. The group agreed and set of back through the woods. As they walked away from the village, each one of them sent a glance back at the wall. Except for Jae-ha. He didn't look back.

Autumn was approaching, and the air was cool among the trees. But enough sunlight filtered down through the leaves to keep chills at bay.

Things were quiet for a long time, but soon the group fell into their natural roles. Yona smiling brightly when she spoke to any of them; Zeno's cheerful and mischievous personality warming them all; Hak and Ki-ja bickering the way that good friends, or brothers, tend to do; Shin-ah following close but quiet, ever watchful; and Yun reminding them not to get distracted and fall behind.

Except for Jae-ha. He was silent at the back of the group. Everything they did seemed normal but felt so off to him. Yona's eyes didn't seem to shine as bright as usual; Zeno was not the spirited ball of energy they were used to; Hak and Ki-ja's banter was subdued, it seemed forced; Shina-ah's silence was less a comforting presence now than it was an eerie emptiness; and although Yun spoke periodically, he didn't have the heart to scold any of them since they weren't nearly the handful they usually were.

The entire day was like this, and as evening fell the fading sun could no longer keep the cold from finding them. Jae-ha shivered. He was struck then by the sudden urge to turn around. He couldn't explain it, and he couldn't fight it, and so he stopped and looked back the way they had come from.

The trees were thicker here, the land less sparse. And no sign of that wall, left miles behind them. But the words of the little family that had bid them farewell stayed with him.

"Jae-ha?" Yona called him, dispelling the feeling like cold fingers at the back of his neck. He smiled when he turned to face her. But when he took a step forward, he stumbled, landing hard on the leaf-carpeted ground.

Yona and Ki-ja were the first to his side then, faces painted with concern.

"What happened?" Yun ask him, "Are you alright?"

"I…" Jae-ha was just as surprised and choked on the words when he tried to explain, "Sorry. It's just…my legs…"

His legs were shaking. He was shaking, so hard he couldn't move. That freezing feeling returned, numbing him. All but his wrists – the familiar burning sensation the chains had brought to his skin was there again now.

All the fear he'd felt in the village, the terror he thought had disappeared when they finally left, rushed back to him now. His heart hammered and he could hardly breathe, but then suddenly there were arms around him and gentle words.

"It's ok," Zeno said. The yellow dragon had sensed his distress and knelt down with him. The embrace was so light but felt so strong. And he spoke firmly, with compassion but with conviction.

"You did really well," Zeno told him, "You're ok now."

Jae-ha felt tears welling up with Zeno's words. The older dragon held him tighter, easing the trembling, and then there was another tender touch.

Misted by the tears, Jae-ha saw Hak sit down next to him. The dark-eyed boy reached out one hand and gently rubbed his back. He didn't speak but the feeling of his strong palm on his shoulders anchored Jae-ha. And when he looked up he saw the others approaching too.

First, Shin-ah got down next to Zeno and hugged Jae-ha as well. The green dragon shifted a bit so he could return the embrace, tangling his fingers into Zeno's overcoat and Shin-ah's fur. He gripped them both tight, the first of the tears beginning to fall.

Zeno let Jae-ha bury his face in his shoulder as he cried. He couldn't stand to let Yona see him this way. But the princess herself was crying already, thinking of what they must have put him through to scar him this deeply. She circled the group and sat behind him, hugging him tight around the waist. Yun joined her, tears streaming down his face too. He knew that the dragons had all suffered, but his heart ached whenever he saw one of them so affected by it.

Finally, Ki-ja, a little awkwardly, wrapped his arms around the group since he couldn't squish his way into the heap they'd made. He rested his head atop Jae-ha's emerald hair, nuzzling it gently when he felt the tremors still coursing through him.

"You're ok," Zeno said again.

Jae-ha continued to cry on his shoulder. Soon what started as small whimpers and nearly silent tears became sobs that wracked his whole body. They came in waves as he began to accept Zeno's words.

He was ok. He was still here with them, free and unchained. He'd gone back inside the wall and made it out again, he realized, something he said he would never do because he never thought he could. And the people there were changing, becoming better. He remembered the little boy, and mixed with his relief, hope rose inside him again.

For hours the group stayed like this, huddled together with Jae-ha at the center while he sobbed. With the tears, the fear left him. The feeling of being held down, caged in, was washed away. He was so tired, the anxiety and the effort he'd had to put forth to hide it draining him.

Still they held him, until the shivering stopped and he ran out of tears. With a deep but shaking sigh he rested his head on Zeno's shoulder and closed his violet eyes. He was exhausted but he knew he was safe, and it only took a moment for him to fall asleep in their arms.

But before he drifted off, he looked up once more. At the darkening sky, the stars just manifesting high above. The sight reassured him. His freedom was still his.


End file.
